Isabell drowsily wondered how many times she'd passed out in the last week.
"Jesus Christ, I'm not a bloody animal!"
Jamison. Someone was-- he was angry, someone could be hurting him. He was the only person-- she'd been wrong--
She should have looked for him, she should have--
She'd been wrong, she was sorry, dad, please--
"Isabell!" Tracer, Lena was talking to her--
Semi-conscious, Isabell only hear the continued protests of Jamison. Her father, he'd told her to find him--
He'd been right, there was so much more, he was so much more than a pyromaniac--
There were things he knew, things he'd been through--
Stop it, stop it, leave him alone--
"Isabell!"
Winston. His tone, he was scared, he was angry, he was worried--
Maybe it was him. Maybe it was Winston. Maybe Winston was hurting Jamie.
Don't touch him, get away, he's not who you think he is--
Leave him alone, leave him alone--
There was a loud crash and shatter, and the darkness over Isabell's mind broke. She clawed her way to consciousness and sucked in a breath, sitting bolt upright. She was blinded by the bright light for a second, and the air was thick with the stench of anesthetic. The ground was moving, they were still in the plane. At least it was warm.
When her vision cleared, Isabell realized that she was glowing. She groaned and rubbed her head, and then looked at the carnage beyond her.
Winston was lying dazed in a pile of weapons which had tumbled from the wall when he'd hit it, and the person he'd been holding - Jamie - was smirking happily. Tracer was helping Winston to his feet while Mercy, Genji, Lucio and Reinhardt quickly ran through the doors into the belly of the plane.
They really had dispatched almost everyone to come and find her.
"You anesthetized me, didn't you?" Isabell groaned.
"Yes," Winston growled, getting up as Lucio skittered over to help pack up the weapons. Mercy went back to fly the plane, seeing as they kind of needed a pilot, while Reinhardt looked at the carnage and grinned. Genji showed no reaction.
"I probably should've told you," Isabell rubbed her head, sitting on the edge of the set she'd been lying on. "My... radiation, doesn't mix with anesthetic. Did I hurt you?"
"You threw smurf-monkey over here into the wall," Junkrat grinned, leaning against the wall. His leg hadn't even begun to be healed, and Angela wouldn't have just left him. Meaning that someone had indeed prevented him from being healed.
Winston snarled at him, but he waved him off. "I told 'em I'd be on me best behavior, but they didn't believe me. So smurfmonkey and headcase--"
"Tracer," Lena corrected loudly. He paid no attention to her.
"--over here tried to shove me in their special little cell just for me."
Isabell got up and realized that the seat behind her was wet. Her eyes traveled up to a completely burst IV drip splattering faintly-glowing blue anesthetic everywhere. All the same, she carefully walked over and stood beside Junkrat, facing Tracer, Lucio, and Winston. Genji and Reinhardt stared carefully from where they were, watching.
Isabell took a deep breath. "He saved my life. Mercy is going to heal his leg. And you don't get to throw him in a cell."
"He is a wanted criminal, Jinx--"
"You can call me by my real name, Winston," Isabell cut him off. "He knows, and he's not going to leak it to the world."
Mercy poked her head around the corner, with soft eyes. "Isabell, that kind of... It's been left unset too long. I can't heal that or it'll stay like that forever. If he is going to heal, then it's going to have to be the long way around. At least for now."
Reinhardt quickly slipped in after her to give her a rest from piloting.
"Well that's shitty," Jamison nodded. "You heard the sheila. I'm stayin'."
"No you are not--" Winston snarled, but Tracer cut him off.
"Isabell, love," she said carefully, "are you sure?"
Isabell knew what she was conveying. Are you sure he's safe? Are you sure that he won't kill us? Are you sure he won't bring everything that Winston worked for down?
And the truth was, Isabell wasn't.
But Isabell knew what it was like. She knew what it was like not fitting in anywhere, being cast out from the only place you called home. She knew that turning to criminality wasn't just an option, it was an appetizing one.
"Take me back," she said, so quietly that it was barely a whisper. Then, louder. "Take me back. Take me back to Australia. I'll bring him with me, and I can help make it a better place without you. Since the rest of the world doesn't give a shit what happens there, nobody will give a shit when he goes home. I'll do whatever I have to..." she paused, looking directly up at Jamison. "To get him back into Junkertown. I'll offer the Queen my position in the cities, my nunchucks, my suit, myself."
"Isabell--" Lucio stared.
"No," Isabell shook her head. "I have to. There's only one place for Junkers. Even if I can just give him a chance in there, at least I'll be where Junkers belong. I'm dangerous when I have to be, I can make the Queen the most powerful monarch in Australia. It's an offer she can't refuse."
"Isabell, you're not like them," Winston tried, and Isabell flared.
"You have no idea, Winston. No idea. On the inside, up here," she tapped her head. "I'm as shattered as they come. I kill people when I have nightmares. I'm the threat with the power to back it up. And if Overwatch rose to power once again, what would they think if you had an Australian in your ranks? One hit with a full blast of radiation?"
"I have a better idea."
Genji. Everyone stared.
"My compound," he explained. "It is a place of harmony. If Isabell wishes, we can blind Jamison and take him in there while he heals. There is no possible way to see the rest of the compound or to see through the shields surrounding it. If you do not mind me speaking for you, Isabell..."
She nodded.
Genji cleared his throat and continued. "Jamison may be a criminal, but so are we. His interests are not in evil, only in himself. And he is hunted throughout the world for a piece of information that he obtained by accident. His bodyguard, Roadhog, would have been waiting for him where the plane should have landed, correct?"
Junkrat nodded.
"Despite his talents with explosives," Genji continued, "When they come for him, he will not be able to hold them all off. Isabell is worried for his safety and wishes for him to stay until he at least has the ability to run, and she can locate Roadhog."
"Smarter than she looks, smurfmonkey," Jamie grinned. Winston said nothing in response. "Now before I offer my thanks to clearly the smartest person here, I must away." He did a melodramatic bow and strode towards the cockpit. "Even I know when the shit's about to hit the fan."
Isabell couldn't speak, she was so grateful. Australia had been a backup plan, giving up the life and the home she had with Overwatch - she wondered if it would have been worth it. Maybe she would have even come up against Overwatch someday if she'd sold herself to the Queen. Maybe she'd have to fight them.
Nothing would ever be worth that.
Tracer broke the silence. "It's a good idea. As much as it pains me to say it, even Junkrat deserves safety from the sort of demons chasing him." She shivered. "You've seen what Junkers do when they want something."
Winston growled, and stomped away towards the back end of the plane.
Isabell knew it was hard for him. He'd worked so hard for everything - worked so hard to bring them all back together, to give them a home, to recruit people he knew were safe. But once Isabell had arrived and Tracer had practically teased him into recruiting her, things suddenly weren't so safe.
"Thank you," Isabell breathed, and Genji nodded. Tracer looked worried and Blinked after Winston, obviously feeling bad for not supporting his decision. Lucio stared in amused silence before grabbing something to clean up the anesthetic, and Isabell went to help him, flushing.
"You know, when I first saw you," Lucio said quietly, "I thought you'd be insane. Then when I saw what you did to Tracer, I thought you'd be a badass. And yet here you are, surprising me again, and being compassionate to a psycho."
"He's more than that," Isabell gritted her teeth.
"I know," Lucio responded, handing her an extra towel. "He'll be like you. You'll see one thing, but really, everyone's just a mixed basket. Him, yeah, maybe some of those Easter eggs are scrambled. But just because he wears his like a badge of pride while we hide ours... that says more about his good qualities than his bad."
Isabell nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Lucio."
"No problemo, Izza."
Isabell raised an eyebrow, and he grinned at her. "Get used to it. I give everyone nicknames. Winstinator, Leno, Angie, Genjster... even if it's stupid, it makes everyone brighten up just a little."
"'Izza'," Isabell said, rolling the word around on her tongue. She grinned. "I like it."